Snow plow



July 12, 1960 E. A. KIECKER EI'AL 2,944,351

SNOW PLOW Filed Dec. 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR Err/n A K/kc/rer- Theodore Aonye @unm ATTORNEY July 12, 1960 E. A. KIECKER TAL 2,944,351

SNOW PLOW Filed Dec. 12, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR fry/'17 ,4. hlec'ker' Theodore 6. Z anye BY m a/Mflfic g ATTORNEY SNOW PLOW Ervin A. Kieeker, Fairfax, Minn, and Theodore G. Lange, Hector, Minn.

Filed Dec. 12, 1956, Ser. No. 627,921 7 Claims. (Cl. 37-43) vision of a snow blowing device which is useful in removing virtually any type of snow from a roadway. The

device is operable with wet snow or with dry snow and acts to remove the snow and to throw it a considerable distance.

A feature of the present invention resides in the particular arrangement of bladeswhich makes the operation possible and practical. In a device of the type de; scribed, much depends upon the particular shaped the blades and the arrangement thereof. In the present invention the bladeshave been suitably arranged and proportioned to produce an extremely effective result.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the shape of the Wings which act to direct snow to the blowers. These wings are provided with generally vertical sides which are bent to. provide .downwar'dlyf and inwardly inclined lower edges capable of, guidingthe snow eifectively to the blowers. v a

1 j A further feature of the present invention lies'in the specific manner, in which the blades and rotor are mounted. The rotor'is mounted in a generally cylindrical enclosure on a shaft havinga bearing rearwardly of the enclosure. 1 r

A second bearing is located at'the forward extremity of the" shaft and is supported by' a cross member con necting the upper edges of the wings of the device; 'Thus the rotating parts are effectively supported to provide long years of service. m

Another feature of the invention resides in the provisionof elfecu've guiding means for the diverging wings that may be adjusted to a preferred angle and hence to drawings.

* rattan P a-tented July 12, 1960 tive forces being set up in the intervening parts of the snow plow assemblage. In otherwords, a structure is produced having a maximum resistance to distortion for the particular mass and configuration of the parts making up the plow assembly. Accordingly,the snow plow constructed in accordance with the teachings of the instant invention is very rigid, yet relatively light as far as its weight is concerned.

These and other objects and novel features of our invention will be more clearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure 1 is a snow plow picturedin perspective exemplifying the invention.

Figure 2 is a rear elevation view of the apparatus with the supporting frame removed.

. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the wings and the bottom plate which may be used in conjunction therewith.

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the rotor blades and rotor.

Figure 5 is a front view of the rotor showing the relative positions of the blades in dotted outline.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a guide wing which assists in maintaining a straighter path of movement.

The snow plow is shown assembled in Figure 1 of the The back plate 10 of the rotor housing is equipped on opposite sides with a pair of vertically extending angle irons 11 and 12. A triangular frame is provided on each side of the plow, the frame including horizontally extending angle irons 13 and 14 connected to the upper ends of the angle irons 11 and 12, respectively; Angle iron braces 15 and 16 connect the lower ends of the angle irons 11 and 1'2 with the rear ends of the angle irons 13 and 14. Attaching brackets 17 and 19 are provided at the juncture of the angle irons 13 and 14 and the braces 15 and 16 to simplify' the attachment with a tractor or truck.

Braces 20 and 21 extend between the angle memberv 13 and the brace 15 to reinforce the same. Similar braces 22 and 23 connect the angle member 14- and the brace 16. Rearwardly and upwardly inclined braces 24 and 25 are connected to the braces 15 and 16 and'the angle 1 members 13 and 14 and project above the angle member 13 and 14. Keyhole-shaped slots or apertures 26 and 27 aretp'rovided in these upper ends of the braces '24 an optimum degree'for thesnow conditions then being encountered by the plow.

A further feature of the present invention lies in the arrangement of the parts forwardly of the rotor housing tioned in the preceding paragraph with certain horizon-1 taLmembers belonging to the frame structure by' which the plow is attached to the forward end of a truck or tractor. By reason of such orientation the reactive forces produced by the snow being plowed are transmitted rear- 7 wardly to the vehicle without undue torsional or deflecand 25 to accommodate a chain yoke which'serves to elevate the forward end of the plow byhttachment to a suitable hydraulic cylinder or other lift device usually found on many tractors. In lifting, the plow hinges about the brackets 17 and 19 which may be apertured transversely as indicated at 29 and 30. The frame members 0r angle irons 13 and 14 are held in properly spaced.

relation by crossed diagonal braces 31 and 32.1 A cross brace 33 also connects the angle members 13 a'nd14 and supports an upwardly extending'pair 'of frame members 34and' 35 which are connected together at a point 36f well above their point of connection with the cross brace 33 and one of which extends above the level of the other and is apertured as indicated at 37. This frame member 35 is designed to support a closure operating shaft extending with a transversely bent end 40 by means of which the shaft 39 may be rotated.

The back plate 10 of the rotor housing is generally circular in outline as is indicated in Figures 1, 2 andlS. As is indicated in'Figure 5, a peripheral band 41 is connected along the periphery of the plate 10 from a point 42 which is at an angle of about 60 from a vertical plane through the rotor shaft or center of the plate 10 to a point 43 which is approximately 30 above a hori zontal plane through the rotor shaft. The back plate 10 is also provided with a peripheral band 44 extending from a point 45 about 30 from the horizontal plane through the rotor shaft to a point 46 about 15 from a vertical plane through the rotor shaft. Deflector doors 47 and 49 complete the periphery of the overall rotor housing; s

The door 47 is hinged at 50 alongits lower edge and swings from. a; position in which the: upper. edge. 5.1 of the door engages the point 45 of theperipheral:band 44. to. a position inclining upwardly and to the left of the position shown to form, in effect, a continuous approximate tangent. to thecasing periphery at the point 42. In the same manner the door 49is hinged at to the edge 46 of the band 44 andsits other extremity or free end" 53 swings from a position in contact with the edge 43 of the band 41 to an open position forming, in effect, a continuation of the band 44 from the point 46.

The forward'side ofthe rotor casing is generally open except for a generally crescent-shaped closure plate 54 extending along the upper edge of the housing. This plate 54 is shown in Figure 4 of the drawings and the lower edge'55 of. this plate extends somewhat below the outer periphery of the rotor as will be'later described.

A pair of wings 56 and 57 extend forwardly from the rotor housing to guide snow into the forward end of the same. These wings are provided with vertical panels 59 and 60which are bent at points spaced from their lower extremities to form downwardly and inwardly inclined panel portions 61 and 62. Flanges 63 and 64 may be provided extending along the lower edges of the inclined portions 61 and 62 reserve as points ofattachment with a bottom plate 65 if it is so desired. The bottom plate 65 and the flanges 63 and 64 are apertured to accommodate bolts such as 66 to attach the plate 65 between the lower edges of the wings 56 and 57. Outwardly turned horizontal flanges 67 and 69 are provided on the upper edges of the'vertical portions 59 and 60 ofthe wings 56 and 57. The flanges 67 and 69 serve to support a channel member or beam 70 in a transverse manner, the arrangement being such that its base'71 is in a vertical plane and its parallel flanges 72 are horizontal. his to be noted that the lower flange resides in the same horizontal plane as do the angle irons 13 and 14. Due to the correspondance in elevation between the member 70 and the elements 13 and 14, reactive forces from the member 70 are effectively transmitted rearwardly to the vehicle to which the snow plow is attached. An upwardly curved shield 73 extends between the beam 70 'and' the crescent-shaped plate 54 on the forward side of the rotor housing. This rounded shield 73 is supported by arcuate supporting bars 74 and 75 on the beam 70 and the plate 54, respectively. Thus, the reactiveforces referred to above pass through this shield and the rotor, casing or housing by'virtue of the interpositioning of the shield;

As is indicated in the drawings, thewings 56 and 57 are reinforced by reinforcing plates 76 which extend downwardly from the top flanges 67 and 69' of the wings and.

which extend along the outer surface of the inclined portiions 61 and 62 of the wings, the reinforcing plates taper-' ing toward the bottom edge. Additional reinforcing braces 77 may extend from the plates 76 to the inclined portions 61 and 62 of the wings to further reinforce the same structurally.

A bearing 79 isprovided on the rear side of the plate and coaxial with the rotor, housing. A rotor 80 is mounted upon a hub 81 extending throughthe bearing 79. The hub 81 is mounted upon a rotor shaft 82 to rotate in unison therewith. A second bearing 83 is supported by a supporting bracket 84- on the under side of the cross beam 70. The shaft 82 extends through the bearing '83 and is further supported thereby.

The rotor 80is formed, as-illustrated'in Figures 4 and 5 of the drawings. The rotor includes a rectangular plate 85,.WhliClliS secured to the hub 81 on a plane normal to the. axisof the hub. Four vanes 86 are secured to the, platexSSf .to extend toward the. corners thereof and usually slightly beyond. The vanes are of full width for a distance from their outer periphery toward the hub and then are cut to incline inwardly as indicated at 87 to the end of the hub 81. Thus the vanes 86 are substantially wider at their outer periphery than at their inner ends.

Three rotating blades are secured to the shaft 82 to rotate in unison therewith. These blades are angled somewhat similar to the shaping of a propeller blade and act to force the snow toward the rotor. The rotor blade 89 includes a hub 96 and two opposed blades 91 extending radially from the hub'in opposite. directions. As is indicated in Figure 5. of the drawings, the blades 91 are smaller in radius than the b1ades86 of the rotor 80 and are arranged at approximately 30 ffom the blades 86 and in advance thereof. Considering that the rotor rotates in the direction of the arrow in Figure 5, the blades 91 of the rotor blade 89 are shown as being 30 forwardly of two of the blades 86 of the rotor 80.

A second rotor blade structure 92 is supported upon the shaft 82forwardly of the rotor blade 89. The rotor blade 92 has a hub 93 and oppositely disposed blades 94 extending at right angles to the blades 91.

A- third rotor blade device 95 is mounted upon the shaft 8-2 forwardly of the bearing 83 and includes a hub 96 and oppositely directed blades 97 which are parallelto the blades 91 of the rotor blade device 89. The radius of the blades 97 is less than that of the blades 94 and the blades 94 are preferably approximately the same length or slightly shorter than the blades 91.

The deflecting doors of the apparatus are operated-by the mechanism best illustrated in Figures l and 2' ofthe drawings. A link 99 is pivotally connected at 100- near the free edge of the deflector door 49 and a similar link 101 is pivoted at 102 to the other door 47 near thefree edge thereof. The links 99 and 101' are pivotally con-. nected at 10 3 to a lever 104which is pivoted at 10 5 to the rotor casing plate 10. A connecting rod 106 is pivotallyconnected to the lever 104 at 107. This connecting rod 106 is connected to a crank pin 109 of a crank 110 which is rotatable about a fixed pivot 111. The crank 110 is so arranged that the connecting .rod 106 may extend-in substantial alignment with the crankin either of two extreme positions of the lever 104i A universal joint 112 connects the axisof'the crank 110 t o the operating shaft 39. Thus, by rotation of the operating shaft 39, the crank 110 may be rotated through approximately 180. This action moves the lever 104 from a position'in which the door47 is closed and the door 49 is open to a second extreme position in which the door 49 is closed and the door 47 isopen. Thus the two doors are simultaneously operated between open and closed positions and in each position the connecting rod 106 is approximately aligned with the crank' 110 so as to effectively withstand strain uponthe doors, tending to pivot them in another position.

As indicated in Figures 2 and 6 of the drawings, ag'u'ide platelIS is'pivotally connected along a vertical-axis 114 V to the forward edge ofoneor both of'the wings 56'and' 57;. In Figure 6 of the drawings the plate 1l3 is'shown as including an anglebracket 115-which-is apertured to fitovera-pivot pin 116 on the wing flange'67. Figure 2 of the drawings'discloses separable hinge'elements 117 which are engaged when the guide plate is in place. An arm 119 is provided on'each wing 113 and thearm is provided with a clamping bolt. 120 which is engageable through aslot 121 in the cooperable' wing flange such as 67'. The guide plate may be held in a desired acute angular relation to the wing by the bolt 120 and is in this way rendered most effective as far as steering is concerned for the particular snow conditions currently ,being encountered. It will be understood that by mounting the plate 113' so that it projects generally rearwardly, it is not subjeoted'to the severe deflective forces thatwould be experienced it it projected forwardly as in certain prior art arrangements.

In operation, the shaftlszis either connected to the power take off mechanism of the truck or to a separate motor mounted upon the framework. The plow-shaped body is pushed along the surface of the ground with the layer of the snow may be removed and blown to one side.

The tractor may then be backed up and moved forward a second time with the plow in substantial surface contact with the ground so as to remove a second layer. Similarly, more than two layers can be removed by appro-.

priate action if circumstances so dictate. The guide plates 113 may be set at an angle to assist in maintaining a straight path of movement.

Where one side of the plow or one wing thereof is subjected to much more force than the other, there is a tendency for the plow to turn. This force may be counteracted at least in part by the guide vanes or plates 113.

In accordance with the patent statutes, we have described the principles of construction and operation of our snow blower, and while we have endeavored to set forth the best embodiment thereof, we'desire to. have it understood that obvious changes may bemade within the scope of the following claims without departing from the spirit of our invention.

We claim: 7

1. A snow' plow ingluding a rotor, a shaft rotatably.

supporting said rotor, a housing encircling said rotor, and having an aperture therein through which snow may be forced, a pair of wings secured to sair rotor housing. and

diverging forwardly and outwardly therefrom, said wings being of :a height less than the height of the housing, a shield extending forwardly from said housing, a beam having its ends connected to said wings at a point forwardly of said housing and a portion thereof lying intermediate said ends engaging the forward edge of said shield, said beam having its lower edgesubstantially below the top of said housing and forming an obstruction forwardly thereof, and said housing having an'open front through which snow may be guided from said wings.

2. The construction described in claim 1 and including a bearing supported by the center portion of said beam and suspended beneath said beam and supporting said shield.

1 said rotor shaft at a locus beneath the forward edge of -,g3. The construction described in claim 1 and including a series of spaced'bladed members mounted on said rotor shaft forwardly of said rotor and opposed blades on'saidbladed members angularly related one to the other, said bladed members residing under said shield,

the foremost bladed member being of smaller radius than lar frame extending. rearwardly from each side of said housing, said frames each including a horizontal member located at substantially the same elevation as said transverse member, a pivot member at the rear end of each frame, and means intermediate the length of;,each last named horizontal member by means of which the rotor, housing and wings may be pivoted upwardlypabout said pivot members. v

5. The structure described in claim 4 in which the upper edges of said wings are provided with horizontal flanges and said transverse member has its ends secured to said flanges.

6. The structure described in claim 5 including means connecting an intermediate portion of said transverse member to the forward end of said housing.

7. A snow plow including'a rotor, a shaft rotatably supporting said rotor, a housing encircling said rotor and having an aperture therein through which snow may be forced, a pairof wingssecured to said rotor housing and diverging forwardly and outwardly therefrom, said wings housing, said beam. having its lower edge substantially below the top of said housing and forming an obstruc-- tion forwardly thereof, and said. housing having an open front through which snow may be guided from said :wings.

References Cited inthe file of this patent I UNITED STATES PATENTS 344,235 Bastian June 22, 1886 598,820 Sharp Feb. 8, 1898 889,667 Klauer Aug. 20, 1928 2,116,945 Hitchens Apr. 16, 1937 2,619,746 Heaman Dec. 2, 1952' 2,709,311 Cady May 31, 1955 2,733,524 Ingbritson Feb. 7, 1956 

